Jean Silva claims razor-thin decision over Arnold Allen in barn burner main card opener at UFC 324

Jean Silva got the better of Arnold Allen in the main card opener at UFC 324 on Saturday.

Both featherweights went to war over the three rounds, much to the pleasure of the Las Vegas crowd at T-Mobile Arena.

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Allen vs Silva kicked off the first-ever UFC main card as part of the promotion’s new broadcast deal with Paramount+, with the winner hoping to move one step closer to challenging division champion Alexander Volkanovski.

It certainly lived up to expectations, with both men finding success over the 15-minute fight in an extremely close contest, which would’ve left the judges scratching their heads.

However, after three rounds, the contest was scored 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 to award Silva the unanimous decision win.

‘Lord’ credited Allen for his performance when speaking to Joe Rogan after the fight.

“I love this thing – I love being here,” the 29-year-old said.

Silva said it was hard to fight Allen, whom he labelled as his idol and someone he admires.

The Brazilian got back in the winning column through his win, having suffered his first UFC defeat to Diego Lopes last September after a six-fight unbeaten streak since his promotional debut in 2024.

Allen, meanwhile, was returning for the first time since a win over Giga Chikadze at UFC 304 in July 2024.

The 32-year-old went 10 fights unbeaten at the beginning of his UFC career, losing only to featherweight elites Max Holloway and Movsar Evloev.

Allen told talkSPORT.com ahead of UFC 324 that he wants to fight for the featherweight title by the end of 2026.

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Although there were plenty of positives to take from his defeat to Silva, it is the latter who will jump ahead of him to No. 6 in the featherweight rankings and closer to a title shot.

What happened in Arnold Allen vs Jean Silva?

Silva did not blink, staring through Allen’s soul, when Bruce Buffer was introducing the fight after an iconic opening montage for the main card.

Allen was very bouncy on his feet from the off, while Silva remained patient early doors, looking like he was ready to explode at any moment.

The Englishman utilised his sharp leg kicks to land on Silva from head to toe, and would’ve been leading on the judges’ scorecard as the first round came to a close.

Silva wanted Allen to stand in front of him and bang, but the latter, much to the pleasure of his legendary coach Firas Zahabi, continued to circle the Brazilian on the outside.

Allen was in complete control until the final 10 seconds of round one, when he was caught with a big right hand from his Brazilian opponent.

UFC 324: Results

Preliminary card

• Umar Nurmagomedov def. Deiveson Figueiredo via unanimous decision
• Ateba Gautier def. Andrey Pulyaev via unanimous decision
• Nikita Krylov def. Modestas Bukauskas via third-round KO
• Alex Perez def. Charles Johnson via first-round KO
• Josh Hokit def. Denzel Freeman via first-round KO
• Ty Miller def. Adam Fugitt via first-round KO

Silva swarmed Allen, but the latter was saved by the bell.

The Fighting Nerds representative went high at the start of round two and caught his opponent early on, but Allen continued to move beautifully on the outside.

Allen generally looked much bigger and definitely had the reach advantage, with ‘Lord’ attempting to constantly close the distance.

Silva landed only the second takedown of his career at the midway point before feeling the full force of a flying knee from Allen.

It was shaping up to be a war in Las Vegas, and there’s no doubt UFC president Dana White would’ve been happy with his opening bout selection.

At the end of round two, Silva started to unleash with his versatile striking, catching Allen with a nice spinning back elbow.

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Allen remained composed and the fight entered the third and final round.

At the beginning of round three, Silva went straight for Allen, who had been told by his coach to remain more flat-footed as he was tiring out.

Silva was displaying an excellent gas tank, and with 90 seconds left on the clock, both men continued to land.

‘Lord’ tried a Holloway point to the ground, but Allen did not oblige.

He followed up with two massive head kicks and tripped ‘Almighty’ before taking a step on his back as the fight came to an end.

Silva was emotional after the final bell, embracing Allen, who will feel like he could’ve done more to put it on Silva in the UFC 324 opener.